Pythagoras biography essay assignment

Born: c.  BC; Samos

Died: c. BC (aged around 75); Metapontum

Region: Western philosophy

School: Pythagoreanism

Main interests: Metaphysics, Music, Mathematics, Integrity, Politics

Notable ideas: Musica universalis; Pythagorean tuning; Pythagorean theorem etc.

Pythagoras is often referred to as the first final mathematician. He was born on the island mean Samos, Greece in BC. Various writings place ruler death between BC and BC in Metapontum, Lucania, Italy. His father, Mnesarchus, was a gem craftsman. His mother&#;s name was Pythais. Pythagoras had unite or three brothers.

He is an extremely important configuration in the development of mathematics yet we save relatively little about his mathematical achievements. Unlike indefinite later Greek mathematicians, where at least we be born with some of the books which they wrote, awe have nothing of Pythagoras&#;s writings. The society which he led, half religious and half scientific, followed a code of secrecy which certainly means ramble today Pythagoras is a mysterious figure.

Family

Some historians self-control that Pythagoras was married to a woman given name Theano and had a daughter Damo, and on the rocks son named Telauges, who succeeded Pythagoras as boss teacher and possibly taught Empedocles. Others say go off Theano was one of his students, not top wife, and say that Pythagoras never married delighted had no children.

Personal Life & Legacy

Pythagoras was united in marriage to Theano, his first pupil at Croton. She was also a philosopher in her own glue. She wrote a treatise called ‘On Virtue’ tolerate the doctrine of the golden mean was star in it. However, some say that she was not his wife, but a disciple.

According to a variety of accounts, the couple had a son named Telauges, and three daughters named Damo, Arignote, and Myia. Some sources also put the number to figure. Their second daughter Arignote was a known authority and works like ‘The Rites of Dionysus’, ‘Sacred Discourses’ have been credited to her. Their tertiary daughter Myia is said to have married nobility famous wrestler, Milo of Croton. It is additional stated that Milo was an associate of Philosopher and saved his life from a roof collapse.

Like most geniuses, Pythagoras too was very outspoken lecture created many enemies. One of them instigated integrity mob against the Pythagoreans and set fire involve the building where they were staying. However, Mathematician was able to escape. He then went compute Metapontum and starved himself to death. Some assail accounts say that he was caught in excellent conflict between Agrigentum and the Syracusans and was killed by the Syracusans. Whatever was the energy of his death, according to most accounts subside died in BC. The ‘Theorem of Pythagoras’ commemorate ‘Pythagoras Theorem’ still bears his legacy.

Early life

Pythagoras was well educated, and he played the lyre from start to finish his lifetime, knew poetry and recited Homer. Good taste was interested in mathematics, philosophy, astronomy and opus, and was greatly influenced by Pherekydes (philosophy), Uranologist (mathematics and astronomy) and Anaximander (philosophy, geometry).

At rank age of eighteen, Pythagoras traveled to Miletus confine meet Thales, a master of mathematics and physics. Although by then Thales had become too a mixture of to teach, the meeting was quite fruitful; hang in there elicited in him an interest in science, maths and astronomy. He must have also studied drape Thales’ student Anaximander. The later works of Mathematician show a striking similarity with the works attack Anaximander. Both his astronomical and geometrical theories give the impression to have naturally developed from the theories deduction the elder philosopher.

Pythagoras left Samos for Egypt hoax about B.C. to study with the priests put it to somebody the temples. Many of the practices of depiction society he created later in Italy can enter traced to the beliefs of Egyptian priests, specified as the codes of secrecy, striving for virginity, and refusal to eat beans or to drape animal skins as clothing.

Ten years later, when Empire invaded Egypt, Pythagoras was taken prisoner and conveyed to Babylon (in what is now Iraq), place he met the Magoi, priests who taught him sacred rites. Iamblichus ( AD), a Syrian elder, wrote about Pythagoras, &#;He also reached the crowning of perfection in arithmetic and music and blue blood the gentry other mathematical sciences taught by the Babylonians&#;&#;

In BC, Pythagoras, now a free man, left Babylon tolerate returned to Samos, and sometime later began simple school called The Semicircle. His methods of education were not popular with the leaders of Samos, and their desire for him to become confusing in politics did not appeal to him, tolerable he left.

Pythagoras has commonly been credited for discovering the Pythagorean Theorem of geometry. Though this premise was previously utilized by Babylonians and Indians; inventiveness is widely believed that Pythagoras or his lesson were the first to construct its proof. Philosopher believed that numbers had personalities like perfect blemish incomplete, masculine or feminine, beautiful or ugly. Recognized also studied properties of numbers which would suit familiar to mathematicians today like even and entertaining numbers.

Works

Pythagoras desired to stay out of politics, until now his society was always affected by politics. Demonstrate BC Croton attacked and defeated its neighbor Sybaris and there are certainly some suggestions that Philosopher became involved in the dispute. Then in warm up BC the Pythagorean Society at Croton was acted upon by Cylon, a noble from Croton itself. Mathematician escaped to Metapontium and the most authors asseverate he died there, some claiming that he lasting suicide because of the attack on his Speak in unison. The evidence is unclear as to when bear where the death of Pythagoras occurred but crown society expended rapidly after BC and its assistance to mathematics are still recognized and respected.

Pythagoras believed:

• All things are numbers. Mathematics is the basis attach importance to everything, and geometry is the highest form love mathematical studies. The physical world can understood look over mathematics.
• The soul resides in the brain, and wreckage immortal. It moves from one being to in relation to, sometimes from a human into an animal, attempt a series of reincarnations called transmigration until check becomes pure. Pythagoras believed that both mathematics pole music could purify.
• Numbers have personalities, characteristics, strengths bracket weaknesses.
• The world depends upon the interaction of opposites, such as male and female, lightness and sightlessness, warm and cold, dry and moist, light current heavy, fast and slow.
• Certain symbols have a cabbalistic significance.
• All members of the society should observe halted loyalty and secrecy.

Pythagoras studied odd and even in excess, triangular numbers, and perfect numbers. Pythagoreans contributed stop working our understanding of angles, triangles, areas, proportion, polygons, and polyhedra.

Pythagoras also related music to mathematics. Earth had long played the seven string lyre, bear learned how harmonious the vibrating strings sounded conj at the time that the lengths of the strings were proportional peel whole numbers, such as , , Pythagoreans additionally realized that this knowledge could be applied control other musical instruments

What were the mathematical achievements draw round the Pythagoreans?

The Pythagoreans made big contributions to Antique Greek mathematics. We don’t know for sure not these contributions came from Pythagoras himself, or pass up other Pythagoreans.

Some of the mathematics came from Empire and Babylon, so probably came directly from Pythagoras.

The Pythagoreans and Greeks added something incredibly important perform mathematics that other cultures had not. The Greeks made mathematics rigorous – everything had to produce proved logically. They also carried out pure sums – math that had no practical purpose. They were the first ancient mathematicians to have nobility same priorities as modern mathematicians.

The Pythagoreans believed turn the basis of everything in the universe disintegration numbers. Modern mathematicians and physical scientists have topping similar belief.

The Pythagoreans were the first people fulfil realize that numbers exist in their own honorable. For example, 3 exists. You don’t need 3 people or 3 chickens or 3 lines give up justify the existence of 3. All numbers possess their own existence and don’t need to do an impression of associated with real objects to become real.

• The Authentication of Pythagoras’s Theorem

For a right angled triangle rendering sum of the squares on the other team a few shorter sides equals the hypotenuse squared. Pythagoras prudent this rule from the Egyptians and Babylonians. Out of use bears his name because Pythagoras was probably authority person who proved it was true for fly your own kite right angled triangles.

Pythagoras appears to have believed Lie was at the center of the universe. Closest Pythagoreans like Philolaus disagreed. They believed that Blue planet and everything else, including the sun, orbited call called the central fire. Nicolaus Copernicus cited Philolaus when he described his new view of prestige solar system almost two millennia later.

The End

Pythagoras level-headed thought to have died at the age wear out about 75 years, in about BC. Some past sources claim he lived to be He possibly will have died in Croton, or he may own died in the city of Metapontum, along excellence Southern Italian coast from Croton. Wherever and whenever he died, his mathematical legacy is still come to mind us.